


the hopes and dreams we encompass

by TURBODERP



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Dr. Breen - Freeform, G-Man - Freeform, Gordon Freeman - Freeform, Nihilanth, The Combine, half-life - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 07:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14848359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TURBODERP/pseuds/TURBODERP
Summary: Snippets from the Half-Life universe. Some references to Epistle 3 will be there.





	the hopes and dreams we encompass

**Author's Note:**

> BAD WRITING ALERT: I'm a garbage writer and this is basically the first time since...middle school that I've tried writing fiction seriously. It's gonna be rife with errors and bad writing (AH YES, LET ME SAY THE CHARACTER'S NAME MANY TIMES IN THE SAME PARAGRAPH OR SENTENCE), so PLEASE give me constructive criticism (I'm going to go back and edit what I've written because I know it's bad), idea prompts, etc.

To Black Mesa Administrator Wallace Breen, the deal seemed almost too good to be true. Take the Xen crystal GG-3883, have the Test Lab C-33/a in Sector C run the Anti-Mass Spectrometer on the sample, and get to preside over a massive scientific leap in teleportation technology. There hardly seemed any real risk, it was a fairly standard insertion protocol. The strange government man made it clear though that this sample was the purest one yet, and that he-or whoever had provided it-had gone to many lengths to acquire it. Quite frankly, Breen didn’t trust this stooge one iota, but there was no reason to doubt the science. And to think of the possible benefits! With the analysis of this crystal and the portal it’d make, they’d be able to reduce the need for Xen as a Borderworld. It could feasibly even lead to Black Mesa finally cracking the secret behind intrauniversal teleportation. Why, if that worked out, Black Mesa would be a shoe-in for the Nobel Prize, and there’d be no worrying about grant money ever again. And Xen wouldn’t be the only world open to exploration then, some of the exploration teams had found other portals to-

“One more thing...Dr. Breen. This...sample must be examined with the Anti-Mass Spectrometer running at one hundred...and five percent. It is...essential that accurate readings be taken, so that we can obtain only the...best results, hm?”

All of Breen’s wild fantasies and extrapolation came to an abrupt halt. 105%? That had to be a mistake. The Anti-Mass Spectrometers weren’t designed to run at that level for more than a few seconds, and while the design specs technically meant they could, Breen knew that there would be serious risks. The excess power draw could damage the Anti-Mass Spectrometer and potentially burn out the entire block as well. Breen did not want to have to explain to the other scientists and military staff running experiments in Sector C that their work would be delayed by several months if things went wrong. Breen already got enough flak from them for trivial issues, and he would dearly love to not give them any more cause for complaint. There was even a tiny chance that running at those power levels would induce a constructive feedback loop and cause a resonance cascade, but Breen instinctively knew that bringing up such an outlandish hypothetical would not sit well with the government man.

Evidently, Breen’s hesitation spoke volumes.

“Whether not you feel it is...appropriate, Dr. Breen, it is necessary. I trust that you will do this. Otherwise, I may be...forced to seek other...qualified candidates. Perhaps those at...Aperture Sciences?”

Whatever doubts Breen had about this deal vanished at the mention of Aperture Sciences. There was no chance he’d risk this pivotal discovery being made by those half-wits. Hell, knowing them, they’d probably grind the specimen and mix it with one of their paints to use as part of one of their legendary obstacle courses. No, the honor for pursuing this leap in science would belong to Dr. Breen, and Breen alone-and of course, Black Mesa, but he knew that this government man had come to him for a reason. Some part of Breen’s mind begged him to reconsider, to think of the risks and at least weigh the odds. But he clamped down on that niggling thought, and crushed it. There could be no doubt, not when so much was at stake. A potential door to the multiverse was open in front of humanity, and all Breen had to do was step through.

“Very well, it shall be done immediately. Thank you for this opportunity, Mr., uh...” It occurred to Breen that he had never gotten the government man’s name. Nor could Breen remember the man even formally introducing himself.

The government man gave a brief, tight-lipped smile, and chuckled. “Names and titles are not important in my line of...employment, Dr. Breen. I trust that you will not squander this...opportunity my employers and I have given you.”

The man in the blue suit stood up and adjusted his tie. He took his briefcase and walked out of the room.


End file.
